Andy Peterson is a photographer fine artist using creativity and curiosity to cultivate his own journey.
Andy currently lives in Lincoln, NE with his wife, three children and two dogs. Together they share passions for spending time outdoors camping, hiking and exploring nature. Both he and his wife run marathons regularly. The whole family travels as much as possible, splitting time between exploring favorite locations and discovering new places, both domestic and abroad.
Andy has been on his personal journey of creativity through art and philosophy from an early age. He grew up feeling a strong connection to the arts but did not see a clear path forward. In college he focused on studying philosophy and was exposed to a variety of world religion and wisdom traditions that resonated strongly with his inner spirit.
His current and ongoing focus is to embrace and explore himself by following the direction of his own creative journey as it takes him to new territories, techniques and ideas. He identifies strongly with Taoist and Stoic ideas about inner nature, and is actively working to cultivate his own so that he can live a life true to himself and his values.
Most recently he has been spending his time digging into photography and discovering ways in which seeing the world through a lens can create new perspectives on the inner landscape.
His photographic heroes and influences include early twentieth century artists who were pushing the boundaries of the medium and asking similar questions through the art form, such as Edward Weston and Minor White.
Contact:
I love hearing from others about their own artist and creative journeys, and I love to hear about projects that are being undertaken. I am an enthusiastic cheerleader and sounding board, and would really appreciate hearing from you!
Andy works in multi-stage process to create images that are focused on the layering of natural textures. Each image, whether it is ultimately digital or physically produced, begins with digital photographs of natural objects and textures. He abstracts and simplifies these textures into single color layers that are similar to what one might think of during a silk screen printing process.
The final work is created through the layering of these single color images, and comes from the interaction of the natural elements with one another.
The ideas that Andy is interested in exploring with his work stem from the idea that each person, plant, animal and object is in the process of expressing its own unique nature. Our reality is made of up the seemingly chaotic colliding, mixing and layering of each element that surrounds us. By abstracting the image, and focusing in on select elements, we are able to better see the beauty and magic of how our world is created. Two natural forms coming together create an interaction which itself is a unique manifestation of beauty and wonder.
Andy hopes that through his art he can provide inspiration to see how out entire world is a beautiful layering of individual elements. Rather than chaos, we exist in a unique coexistence of beauty that relies upon and sanctifies the individual nature of each element, including ourselves.
The images are intended as visual Koan or Haiku. A window to understanding at a different level. For as much as Andy appreciates the written word, he himself has struggled to connect the complex ideas in his head to a deeper heart-level understanding of what that means. Without a link between min and heart there can be no honest integration of knowledge into a life. Art making is key to bridging this connection.
CV:
“Conceptual Abstraction” virtual juried show by Orenda Artworks New York, NY – 2021
“Hard and Soft” Juried fiber and ceramic show, Center for the Visual Arts, Wausau WI – 2021, May – July
Art Show Inernational 3rd Landscape Competition, Honorable Mention for Cloud Mountain. Aug – Sept 2021
Lens Taoism 